Tea and Dining out

Mr. Ma, you are one of this forum's most brilliant theatheologists.

I was once interested in high-pressure tea (but more secularly motivated) and tried to get an Israeli rfdt reader to go to a spa on the Dead Sea, make tea, and report. He never did, as far as I know.

But even the Dead Sea would give us only a single data point. Does anyone have access to a hyperbaric chamber? Although I work at a hospital, we don't treat many bends cases in Wisconsin.

Best wishes,

Rick.

Hi Rick. Have a read of Douglas Adams page. (He wrote The Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy)

He not only covers our attitude to the temperature of water needed to make the correct English Tea but also covers the problems of doing the same at different heights. He can probably advise you of how to do it in another Galaxy. 8^)

-- Dave Croft Warrington England

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Dave Croft rolled initiative and posted the following:

It's not his page, it's only a quote. But it's a darned good quote.

If it has been his page, it would have been on

instead.

Yes, well, "attitude" is everything.

The unfortunately truth of the matter is that short of a seance, Mr. Adams won't be advising anyone on anything anytime soon. His "Infinite Improbability Drive" ceased functioning in 2001.

Dave:

Thank you so much for that post! I had thought thatI had read all of Adams's work. To find out that I hadn't was wonderful. To find out that he had something I hadn't read ON THE SUBJECT OF TEA was pure magic. Thanks again.

--Tom

-oo- ""\o~

------------------------------------ "Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto." Terrance

Right! The popovers (Homer Simpson: "Mmmmm...popovers")

Good to know my memory synapses are still firing. That was a really delightful restaurant. They also had nice local beer.

Warren

Damn. I was in Amherst a couple of summers ago for a bicycling event. If only I'd known about the place. I did get to a good coffee place (don't tell the tea group.)

Ah, New England. So civilized. I just heard a TV news reporter interviewing New Hampshire locals on the upcoming primary, and one of them said "Do you want me to prognosticate?" I'll bet the network guy didn't know what it meant.

Joe

RC>> Mr. Ma, you are one of this forum's most brilliant theatheologists. RC>> I was once interested in high-pressure tea (but more secularly RC>> motivated) and tried to get an Israeli rfdt reader to go to a spa on RC>> the Dead Sea, make tea, and report. He never did, as far as I know. RC>> But even the Dead Sea would give us only a single data point. Does RC>> anyone have access to a hyperbaric chamber? Although I work at a RC>> hospital, we don't treat many bends cases in Wisconsin. RC>> Rick.

DC> Hi Rick. Have a read of Douglas Adams page. DC> (He wrote The Hitch hikers Guide to the Galaxy) DC>

DC> He not only covers our attitude to the temperature of water needed DC> to make the correct English Tea but also covers the problems of doing DC> the same at different heights. DC> He can probably advise you of how to do it in another Galaxy. 8^)

Douglas Adams certainly continues the tradition of granitic British uncompromise with regards to tea, from George Orwell's instructions on holding steady during wartime rationing to Dr. Muriel Bristol's insistence that the order of milk vs. tea addition to the cup was of cardinal importance (thus, legendarily, leading to a new branch of statistics) to sir Edmond Hillary's famous lament about weak tea on Mt. Everest. But he doesn't say what to do at altitude. Neither does the following text (not Adams') at the cited website:

Simple enough but I have a question; one I think Douglas Adams would appreciate. The essential element in making that proper cup is that the water must be boiling. Now Douglas was a Brit, and he lived at sea level, and therein lies the problem. I live in Utah approximately 4500 feet (1372 meters) above sea level and since altitude has a definite effect on the temperature at which water boils there is a problem. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 Celsius). For each increase of 500 feet (152 meters) of altitude the Fahrenheit temperature at which water boils goes down 1 degree. That means in my kitchen water boils at 203 degrees Fahrenheit (95 Celsius). Boiling as Douglas insists it must, but certainly not the same boiling that occurs at sea level. Does this mean I will never experience a proper cup of tea in Sandy Utah? I wonder if this applies to my coffee. Would anyone care to offer a solution to this problem?

My first solution was a literal solution: put the sugar in the kettle instead of the cup, raising the boiling point. But I found that, if I got all my constants right, one teaspoon of sucrose in a six fluid ounce cup of tea will raise the boiling point by about .07 degrees Fahrenheit, accounting for only a 33-foot ascent. Not much. (Calculations, which may well be wrong, available by request.) So we are still left with a hyperbaric chamber or nothing. Or green tea, of course. The market is now ripe for altitude-specific blends, which should of course come with topographic maps showing where they should be steeped with boiling water (or not steeped at all).

Writing from the bowels of a blizzard,

Rick.

Darn, and I read this thread *after* I'd already gone to lunch...

-Suzanne in Amherst

Moving from the silly to the serious, I have often done the following instead of pre-warming the pot: add water and leaves, then zap the thing in the microwave for a few seconds to bring it back to a boil. Makes much better black tea, even if the aesthtics are deficient.

-DM

Has anyone tried tea made in a pressure cooker?

Regards

-- Social Policy Bonds: Policy as if outcomes mattered

Rick Chappell wrote >

Does

Or for that matter some kind of vacuum chamber contraption (speaking of mad scientists).

And has anyone tried to make tea out of the roots? I read that most of the theanine is in the roots. What is the exact chemical composition of the roots? Maybe they have little caffeine, and a lot of theanine.

well, for what it's worth, there's also the fresh side in amherst (on main street), which is cheaper and (for my tastes) much better than judie's.

then there's a slew of cafes around with loose tea: rao's northampton coffee (in fun, fun tetsubin) woodstar haymarket

now, i can't say that i think the tea is GOOD at any of these places, but it is loose.

cheers! sam